THIS was one of the shocking scenes of destruction after Aston Villa fans went on the rampage on a train after a friendly game ahead of the new season.

Tray tables were ripped from the backs of seats, seat coverings were damaged and lights were smashed.

The CrossCountry service was bringing supporters home after watching a pre-season friendly between their club and Derby County on August 3 when it was damaged.

Rail police took the details of fans in the carriage when the train arrived at Birmingham New Street and are now liaising the club to establish whether anyone identified as being involved in the incident was a season ticket holder.

The damage meant the train had to be taken out of service for 24 hours for repairs.

Pc Leighton Pulling said officers received reports of fans causing a disturbance on the service at 11.27pm.

He said the train manager walked through the service and saw “considerable damage” had been caused to carriage in which a number of Villa fans were travelling in.

But Pc Pulling said: “No-one was seen to cause the damage and no-one admitted to causing it.”

As the new Premier League season kicked off today, British Transport Police called for the public’s help to identify the louts.

“The actions of a minority risk spoiling things for other fans in the future,” Pc Pulling said.

“We believe the train was busy at the time and that these incidents took place in front of a number of other passengers, and law-abiding Villa fans, on board

CrossCountry managing director Andy Cooper said: “Due to the amount of damage suffered, the unit had to be taken out of traffic and the following day, scenes of crime officers visited the Central Rivers depot to dust for fingerprints and photograph the damage.

“Repairs were carried out within 24 hours, allowing the set to return to traffic.”